Geneos Wealth Management Inc. Has $54.37 Million Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 200,004 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,244 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 1.3% of Geneos Wealth Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Geneos Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $54,373,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Apple by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,400,790,809 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $311,157,662,000 after purchasing an additional 5,005,297 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Apple by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 601,249,995 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $123,358,461,000 after purchasing an additional 5,224,229 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 354,749,794 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $72,506,336,000 after purchasing an additional 4,942,638 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Apple in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,942,255,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Apple by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,918,365,000 after purchasing an additional 20,079,472 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Up 1.3%

AAPL opened at $308.82 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $269.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $268.63. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $193.46 and a twelve month high of $311.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market cap of $4.54 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.06.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The firm had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.65 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.06%.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple continues to be viewed as one of the best long-term large-cap tech names, with reports highlighting strong iPhone demand, its massive installed base, and the potential for Services to drive the next leg of earnings growth. Apple Services story
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive: Evercore ISI reiterated an Outperform rating and raised its price target, while other commentary says Apple can keep compounding earnings and free cash flow as it expands AI features and devices. Analyst commentary
• Positive Sentiment: Apple executives saying the company is still in the “early innings” of spatial computing is reinforcing the view that new product categories could support future growth beyond the iPhone. Spatial computing article
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s legal fight with Epic Games remains a drag on sentiment, as the company asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a contempt order tied to App Store fees. Epic lawsuit article
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts are becoming more cautious on valuation after Apple’s run to new highs, warning the stock may be due for profit-taking. KeyBanc caution article

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 30,002 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total transaction of $7,661,010.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at $34,934,433.50. The trade was a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total value of $369,460.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,226,770. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 97,759 shares of company stock worth $24,964,305 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Phillip Securities upgraded Apple from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $365.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $268.00 to $276.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Stephens set a $315.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, January 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $308.74.

Apple Profile

Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) is a multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and services. Over its history Apple has evolved from personal computers to a broad portfolio that spans mobile devices, wearables, home entertainment and digital services.

Apple’s principal hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet, Mac personal computers, Apple Watch wearable devices and a range of accessories such as AirPods and HomePod.